Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

The unfortunate death of a toddler in Canada is making VoIP out to be the culprit when in reality technology kills the same way as a gun. It comes down to people.

The call being sent to the wrong call center, the one where the family previously had their service forwarded usually occurs as a result of most VoIP operators not requiring a "heartbeat" which means that the connectivity to the IP network stopped.

Here at home my AT&T CallVantage literally will not allow a call each time we have a power outage that impacts the analog telephone adapter. It slows me down for five seconds, and is a very important reminder of how important the heartbeat service is. Without verifying the heartbeat calls can’t be made.

The second reason calls go to the wrong call center usually is the fact that even though credit card companies require and address change, most times once a credit card is used and set up for auto-payment, until the card becomes invalid, due to its expiration, there’s not usually another check off. If the card’s registered address didn’t match up to the residence, another block could be placed on the phone.

The PSAPS (Public Service Access Points) also have to be prompt in updating the information. Even if the carrier did notify them, and even if the consumer had notified the carrier, if the updated information had not been updated, this also impacts the success of

The most efficient way for VoIP operators and IP network operators to prevent things like this from happening would also be IP number location based lookups. Moving from one community to another, while remaining with even the same providers would also trigger the need for the user to re-register.

The death is unfortunate, and the carrier has to shoulder some of the burden. Consumers as a rule don’t know better. Carriers do.

Another irony here is the company Comwave also owns the iPhone trademark in Canada. I wonder if Steve Jobs will be offering to help the family out.

Source: www.voip-news.com

TalkSwitch, the well-known designer and manufacturer of telephone systems for small and multi-location businesses, announced today that they have signed on Imeco Telecom as their newest distributor, giving TalkSwitch new inroads into Canada.  Beyond just simply filling reseller orders, Imeco will also be able to assist with installation services, thereby offering a more complete package to TalkSwitch customers.  With Imeco’s already established customer base and multiple locations in Canada, it serves as a wonderful entree point for TalkSwitch to gain a foothold on their competition.

“Imeco Telecom is an ideal distribution partner for TalkSwitch,” said Jan Scheeren, President and CEO, TalkSwitch, in a recent press release. “Telecom is their sole focus, and they are very passionate about what they do. They have a sizeable reseller channel already in place, giving us instant access to thousands of potential new customers, and they have the ability to offer top quality service in both official languages in Canada. With our newly released French language TalkSwitch software and documentation, that’s a huge benefit for our company. We’re very pleased to have reached this partnership with them.”

“We’ve dealt with many telephone system manufacturers over the years, but the TalkSwitch solution is the one that has excited us the most,” said Marc Flynn, General Manager, Imeco Telecom. “In fact we’re installing TalkSwitch systems in all of our own offices! The small business market is one that has great potential for us, and TalkSwitch is the ideal system to address that market. We love its combination of VoIP and traditional telephony and think our resellers will have great success bringing these systems to small businesses in Canada.”

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Uh-Oh Canada: You’re about to deregulate VoIP by ZDNet’s Russell Shaw — Yesterday, the Canadian federal government announced it would overrule that nation’s CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Communications Commission) and de-regulate VoIP. Last year, the CRTC regulated VoIP by enacting pricing restrictions on traditional telephone companies and the rates they were able to charge without regulatory approval. The fear was that in a regulation-free environment, these services [...]

Russel has some views on this act by Cannadian Government. Is it good or bad, Read the article and you decide.